Warm Astro Nights

So we have been experiencing some really warm weather up here in Minnesota of late.  For mid March, it has been freakishly warm, pushing 80 during the day and still in the 70's or upper 60's a few hours after sunset.

Last night I went to visit a brother out in the country, and we took a walk in the warm night to some train tracks about a 1000 feet from the house. Southern Minnesota has a distinct lack of hills, so there were great views all the way down to the horizon in almost all directions.

You could distinctly make out the winter Milky Way as it crossed from Auriga down into the space between Orion and Canis Major.  And then I thought, that any night you can view Orion while wearing just shirt sleeves is a good night.

Conjunction Junction

Every so often, we get to view a nice arrangement of the planets with each other, or with each other and the moon.  These events are called conjunctions.  Although the planets themselves are still millions of miles apart, the appear to sit right next to each other in the night sky.

Conjunction Over Suburbia

Tonights show is provided by the Venus and Jupiter, about as far apart as one can get in the real world.  Jupiter has stayed fairly still, with the planet Venus rising up in the night sky to meet it.  As the days progress, Venus will rise higher, while Jupiter will sink towards the horizon to end it's current night time apparition.  The two do make for a nice pair.  In a couple of weeks, the separated pair will be joined by a waxing crescent moon.